my dumb tri questions for the day

[al320]

Im clueless people, dont make fun. All the peoplr i know irl who said theyd help answer my specific, directed questions with "dont worry, youll do great!" Appreciated, not helpful. The links you guys gave me helped, im just a little overwhelmed.

1. Do i wear my garmin? I guess i should see if its waterproof. If not, im lost lol

2. What do i do with my stuff? Im told theyll be space near the bike racks to leave my stuff, but like, wont my goggles get trampled and crushed.

3. How the fuck do i pace myself? I know its my first one and i dont need to go out and kill myself, but id like to at least try and do well. I have no idea what kind of pace i should try to hold for the run (its a sprint).

4. Do i fuel? Hydrate? I have no idea how long this will take. I have a hard time drinking on a moving bike. I imagine gu will be as challenging.

5. I dont even know enough to know what i dont know. Any random things you think of, throw at me.

Thanks!

[Susie]

Jul 24, 2014 9:45:40 GMT -5 al320 said:

Im clueless people, dont make fun. All the peoplr i know irl who said theyd help answer my specific, directed questions with "dont worry, youll do great!" Appreciated, not helpful. The links you guys gave me helped, im just a little overwhelmed.

1. Do i wear my garmin? I guess i should see if its waterproof. If not, im lost lol
If it's a multisport Garmin that's designed to be worn in the water (310xt, 910xt), then yes if you want, but racing naked is a valid choice too.  If not, I would not.  

If your Garmin is not a multisport watch, you can alternatively put it on in T1, but you'll have to stop, start, reset in T2, which is a distracting and time-consuming thing to concern yourself with.  Would not recommend doing for a short tri.

2. What do i do with my stuff? Im told theyll be space near the bike racks to leave my stuff, but like, wont my goggles get trampled and crushed.  No, not really.  You don't have that much stuff in transition.  Wetsuits get thrown a little, but put your cap & goggles by your shoes and they will be fine.  Your stuff gets laid out really close to your bike spot, there is not much trampling.  Google pictures of triathlon transitions if you can't imagine it -- but really, you'll get it when you see it on race day.

3. How the fuck do i pace myself? I know its my first one and i dont need to go out and kill myself, but id like to at least try and do well. I have no idea what kind of pace i should try to hold for the run (its a sprint).  I don't think anybody can really help you that much with this because it's personal, and depends on your perceived effort in each leg.  The best way to get comfortable with it is bricking, and more experience racing.  Your first tri will not be a masterpiece, and that's ok.  Mine sure wasn't.  I didn't go hard enough.  But in your next one you go a little harder and figure out what you're capable of.

4. Do i fuel? Hydrate? I have no idea how long this will take. I have a hard time drinking on a moving bike. I imagine gu will be as challenging.  Without knowing the actual distances, I don't know how long it'll take you either.  But look at the results from previous years and figure you'll be middle-ish - that should give you a rough idea.  In general though, I would say people do not need Gu in a sprint tri.  If you want you can take one shortly before the start, but you do not need one mid-race.  They are harder to eat while biking than drinking from a bottle anyway.  You do need hydration, especially if it's hot.  Practice drinking on the bike now, pulling the bottle from the cage and putting it back.  One bottle should be fine; you don't want more than that in your stomach when you start running anyway.  I would not wear a hydration belt on the run in a sprint, an aid station should do you.

5. I dont even know enough to know what i dont know. Any random things you think of, throw at me.  You can't possibly know every single thing that will happen in the race ahead of time.  You never can, but especially not your first one.  Yes, it's good to be prepared and have the right gear, but some of the other stuff you've gotta let go and just do it the first time.  Your first race will not be perfect, but it will still be awesome.  Adapting and rolling with it is a big part of triathlon.

Thanks!

[CallingAllAngels]

I have a Garmin 220 which is water proof. I have worn it for a couple tris. Stopping and restarting it took me almost no time. I didn't try to time my transitions, so I stopped it when I got out of the pool (pool swims). Restarted it after I got going on the bike. Stopped it after I dismounted and then restarted when I started running. I wasn't so concerned with having exact times. I especially liked having it on the bike because miles on the course were not marked, so I had a good idea how much further I had. Even if it took a second or two each time I fiddled with it, I was okay with that.

[Deleted]

Jul 24, 2014 9:45:40 GMT -5 al320 said:

Im clueless people, dont make fun. All the peoplr i know irl who said theyd help answer my specific, directed questions with "dont worry, youll do great!" Appreciated, not helpful. The links you guys gave me helped, im just a little overwhelmed.

1. Do i wear my garmin? I guess i should see if its waterproof. If not, im lost lol If it's not waterproof, put it on your bike in transition. Before the race, let it find satellites so hopefully when you turn it on post-swim, it'll find them quickly.

2. What do i do with my stuff? Im told theyll be space near the bike racks to leave my stuff, but like, wont my goggles get trampled and crushed. Nah. Just keep it on your towel in transition. Mostly, people aren't jerks.

3. How the fuck do i pace myself? I know its my first one and i dont need to go out and kill myself, but id like to at least try and do well. I have no idea what kind of pace i should try to hold for the run (its a sprint). It's your first, so go with how you feel. Coming off the bike, your legs will feel like lead for a bit, but they will smooth out. It's a 5k, so I'd not stress too much pacing. 

4. Do i fuel? Hydrate? I have no idea how long this will take. I have a hard time drinking on a moving bike. I imagine gu will be as challenging. Some people don't. I do because I bonk easy. I do gu chomps on the bike and grab a gu in transition if I need one. 

5. I dont even know enough to know what i dont know. Any random things you think of, throw at me. Set up your transition area and practice it. You can lose valuable time by not being prepared here physically and mentally.

Thanks!

[al320]

Thanks Susie thats really helpful! Reslly truly helpful.

If im only wearing running shoes for the bike and run....do i bring a bag for my goggles and cap? Its a silly detail but im trying to walkthrough the whole thing in my mind and there are all these holes.

And i never thought to google image transitions, thats a great idea!

Oh and its a 300yd swim, 10 mile bike, 5k run. Im reallllly slow on the bike. Im a strong swimmer, but the pool where he swim is has no lines at the bottom of the pool and the few times ive swam there, i end up black and blue from not swimming in a straight line and bashing into the lane lines. So itll probably slower than i cam go. And the run, i have no idea.i expect to crash and burn and be far from my typical 24ish minute 5k.

[al320]

Thanks so muh, ladies! Youre easing my nerves tremendously!

[CallingAllAngels]

I don't think you'll need to fuel. I did a similar tri a few weeks ago (300yd swim, 12.7 mile bike, 5k run). I didn't fuel but I did eat a lot that morning and hydrate on the bike. It took me about 1:30 to finish and I'm pretty slow.

I wore the same shoes for the bike and run. I brought my shoes (wore flip flops), socks, visor, bike helmet, goggles, cap, race number belt and hand towel in a envirosax bag (it was pretty small and easily bunched up). I dropped the flip flips on the back of the towel with the belt and visor.  Put the cap and goggles in pocket of my tri top. Shoes and socks on the front of the towel. Helmet upside down (and unbuckled) on handlebars.

After the swim, I put my helmet (always first), socks and shoes on. Take bike and go. Back from bike, I took my helmet off and put my visor and belt on. I threw a gel in my back pocket but didn't need it. Sip of water and go.

Good luck! For whatever reasons, triathlons just seem so much more fun than running races. It will be a whirlwind.